


The Isolated Case

by 30secondfics



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 15:33:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15270603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30secondfics/pseuds/30secondfics
Summary: While Patsy is in Hong Kong, Delia begins to shadow Nurse Crane to get her hands on practicing district midwifery. She becomes involved in a case of a closeted lesbian couple, who are mysteriously expecting their second baby. This case becomes a major eye-opener for the young Nurse Busby.





	The Isolated Case

“... and how are your revisions, Nurse Busby?

Delia glanced up from her chicken pot pie and gave Sister Julienne a small smile.

“I’ve completed the chapter on placenta previa,” she answered.

“Very good,” the head nun smiled. “I was thinking this morning that it’s about time you shadowed a midwife and put into practice some of the things you’ve learned.”

“That would be lovely,” Delia agreed. She had looked forward to getting some hands-on experience for quite some time now.

“I have a twenty-eight year old secundigravida in her third trimester,” Nurse Crane offered. “She’s as fit as a horse—practically sneezed out her first. I suspect her second will have just as little trouble. She would be a lovely candidate for our Nurse Busby to have as a first, just to give her a taste of what a routine home birth is like in person... instead of on the telephone.”

A fit of giggles plagued the dinner table and Delia blushed. It was only a few months ago that she experienced the rewarding feeling of delivering a baby over the phone.

“That settles it then,” Sister Julienne agreed, “Nurse Busby, you will be partnered with Nurse Crane for the remainder of this case.”

Delia glanced across the dinner table and gave Phyllis a thankful smile, to which she received a wink in return.   
  
000   
  
“Midwife!” Phyllis announced their arrival as they entered the large apartment, the door already unlocked and waiting for their arrival. “And midwife trainee!” she added when she remembered Nurse Busby was in her company.

Delia stepped into the apartment and immediately admired the well-kept space. The infrastructure of the old building was humbly below average, but the apartment appeared freshly painted orange with modern furniture and lots of potted plants. Crystal lamps and gold-accented woodwork made it obvious that someone had, or had inherited, money. It also appeared that the flat’s inhabitants spent a lot of time taking care of the home.

“In here...” a voice called out.

Phyllis and Delia followed the voice into one of the two bedrooms and found the single mother sitting on the floor beside a big bed.

“My dear!” Phyllis ran over to the heavily pregnant woman, Delia right by her side.

“I didn’t fall...” the mother reassured as the two nurses helped her to her feet and onto the bed to have a seat. “I wanted to...” she lifted the small emery board that was in her hand, “But I can’t seem to reach my toes anymore, not with this little one growing bigger and bigger everyday.” She placed her hand on her large belly.

“We would be happy to help you with that, Miss Kent,” Delia reassured.

“Please, Nurse, call me Ellen.”

“Ellen…” Phyllis said firmly, “We can do that for you. No need to roll on the floor like a toppled beer bottle.”

“Joan usually helps me with them,” Ellen explained. “She does everything for me now on top of taking care of Joey. I wanted to save her the trouble.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t think it’s any trouble at all,” Nurse Crane reassured.

“I know that, Nurse, it’s just... I’ve become more of a chore for her than… a friend.”

Delia did not fail to catch the slight hesitance in Ellen’s voice when she referred to her flatmate. It made her consciousness perk up, and she began to notice clues in the apartment that she did not notice when she first entered. For one, was the hair curlers on both night tables, indicating both women slept on the same bed despite having two bedrooms in the flat. Second, was the collection of small black and white photos on the dresser of the two women with Little Joey, appearing very much like a nuclear family. In one photo, Joan was wearing a bowtie and tophat that matched the ones Little Joey was wearing.

“I understand,” Phyllis nodded, and she really did understand. “Nurse Busby here will perform your check-up and I will file those nails down for you.”

“Oh thank you,” Ellen Kent sighed in relief, “You two are real angels.”

Delia smiled and began to go through the routine check she had already learned to do, in theory. Phyllis sat herself at the foot of the bed and began to file down their patient’s toenails while she watched her pupil complete the task on hand.

“Oh...” Ellen smiled when Delia placed her hands on her large belly. “Your hands are nice and warm, Nurse.”

“So I’ve been told,” Delia smiled and palpated the flesh beneath her hands. She couldn’t help but recall how her warm hands and Patsy’s cold ones complimented each other so well. It made her miss Patsy all of a sudden.

The door to the apartment opened moments later and a little boy of about three years of age came running into the room.

“Little Jo,” Ellen smiled when she saw her little man.

“Big Jo and I got these for you, mama...” he handed her the small bouquet of baby’s breath.

“You did?” Ellen took the flowers and looked at her roommate, who was standing at the door frame.

“Getting the royal treatment, are we?” Joan asked when she saw her roommate being tended to by the two nurses.

“This is simply routine, Miss Holmes. We do what we have to to keep our mothers in good shape,” Phyllis reassured, not mentioning that they found Ellen on the floor trying to tend to her nails herself.

“I’m Joan Holmes...” Joan greeted Delia and walked towards her, “I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“She’s Big Jo and I’m Little Jo,” Joey informed.

“I see,” Delia smiled and shook the hand that was offered. She introduced herself as the midwife in training.

“So how is she?” Joan asked Delia.

“Her vitals are textbook perfect, and the baby’s heartbeat is right where we want it,” Delia explained.

“That’s great!” Joan smiled, “Can I offer you nurses some of the tea and butter tarts Little Jo and I got at the market today?”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary, Joan, we won’t be here much longer,” Phyllis reassured

“Then please take some to-go,” Joan insisted. “You take such good care of her, it’s the least I can do!”

“Well, it would be rude to say no. Right, Nurse Busby?” Phyllis gave her pupil a smirk.

“It would be rude to say no,” Delia agreed with a smile.   
  
000   
  
The silent car ride home smelled like fresh warm butter tarts. Delia tried to ask about Joan and Ellen on multiple occasions, but she kept shying away. It felt strange to ask, even if it was accepting and understanding Phyllis Crane she was asking.

“Joan and Ellen...” she finally blurted out.

“Yes,” Phyllis nodded her head before Delia could even continue.

“They’re like me and Patsy...” Delia whispered so quietly Phyllis could barely hear it.

“They’re like two bears in a cave,” Phyllis elaborated. “They stick to themselves. I think they’re afraid to make friends, in fear that they would be found out. Breaks my heart. They’re lovely people and they’ve got no family or social support system.”

“Surely they could meet women—like them—if they socialized at the right places,” Delia thought out loud.

“I think they’ve grown too accustomed to being on their own,” Phyllis sighed. “As fear can keep us tethered down and terror can clip our wings.”

Delia frowned and gazed out the window. She suddenly felt lucky. Even if she and Patsy had to love each other in secret, at least they had a loving group of friends who loved them like family. 

“Was Little Jo from Ellen’s previous marriage or boyfriend?” Delia asked after some time.

“No,” Phyllis shook her head in denial. “I delivered Little Jo over two years ago. I thought Miss Kent might have already been pregnant when she came to live with Miss Holmes... but it turned out that they had been living together in that flat for nearly a decade. Miss Holmes is a gardener, and Miss Kent was a bookkeeper for the landscaping company she worked at. I assume that’s where they met and worked together… until Miss Kent’s father died and left her a comfortable inheritance. She’s been more of a housewife since.”

“How did they have children?” Delia wondered, a bit intrigued.

“To ask would only satisfy curiosity, not nursing necessity,” Phyllis replied. “So to us, Nurse Busby, it shall remain a mystery.”

000

One week later, Delia was sent to do another routine check after her dayshift at the Sea Matron. Barbara was kind enough to lend her her bike, and she very cautiously made her way to the Kent-Holmes flat without incident, by avoiding busy roads with heavy car traffic. When she got to the old brick building, she carefully parked the bike against the black metal staircase and walked up to the third floor, where Ellen, Joan, and Joey lived in isolation.

“Is she expecting another?”

Delia turned towards the voice before she could knock on the door. On the fire escape adjacent to the Kent-Holmes flat was an older woman with hair rollers, smoking a cigarette and hanging up children’s garments on the clothesline.

“Some women don’t learn their lesson, do they?” she sassed. “Bad enough she gotta raise that boy without a father, and now she has to bring another into the world the same way,” the woman shook her head in disgust. “Heard it’s not even from the same chap who fathered the first. Wouldn’t be surprised if those kids turn out to be criminals, growing up with no proper family and all.” 

Delia didn’t know how to respond for a moment. It stunned her that the woman had such hatred for people she didn’t know.

“Lots of criminals come from ‘proper’ families,” Delia replied firmly.

The woman arched her eyebrow and pinned another garment onto the clothesline. She had it in her head that the nurse would agree with her point of view.

“I still wouldn’t trust her if my life depended on it,” she shook her head.

“And I hope you may never need her help,” Delia turned away from the neighbour and quietly huffed to herself. Her blood boiled and her heart pounded, but she tried her best to calm her nerves before knocking on the forest green door.

“Who is it?” a young voiced asked.

“It’s the nurse.”

“It’s the nurse, mum,” he announced.

“The door is unlocked,” Ellen’s voice informed.

Delia opened the door and stepped in before locking it behind her. She closed her eyes and took a moment to compose herself, to release the anger she had just felt for the bigoted neighbour. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Ellen Kent, so she forced a smile and turned to face the expecting mother. 

Ellen Kent was on the floor, again, except this time she was leaning against the couch and Little Jo was using her big belly as a surface for his toy cars to drive on.

“On the floor again, Miss Kent?” Delia teased, although the sight made her heart swell. She too had dreamed of having a family with Patsy. If they ever could.

“Little Jo is playing with his little brother or sister,” Ellen ruffled her son’s hair and then smiled at the nurse. “It’s good to see you, Nurse Busby. Is Nurse Crane running late?”

“It’s just me this time. Nurse Crane had an early labour to tend to.”

“I’m glad you’re here. Joan should be home from work soon,” Ellen tried to sit up from the carpet, but she didn’t seem to have the strength to.

“Are you tired?” Delia asked when she noticed the state Ellen was in. Bags under her eyes, and fatigue present in her muscle tone.

“Haven’t been sleeping well,” Ellen admitted.

“Any discomfort?”

“Just a lot on the mind,” Ellen excused.

Delia approached her patient, placed her bag on the coffee table, and joined her on the floor.

“Nurse Warm Hands, you are,” Ellen smiled when the nurse placed her hands on her belly.

Delia smiled, “Any pain?”

“No,” Ellen denied automatically. “Well...” she decided to be truthful, “Sometimes.”

“Could you describe the pain for me?”

“It’s more of a cramp, I think. Sometimes a burning.”

“Where and when?”

“The cramping is in my lower back, and the burning...” Ellen glanced at her son, who was now driving the toy car up her arm.

Delia followed Ellen’s gaze and gave her a reassuring smile. “Little Jo,” she called the child, “Do you have any toys in your bedroom?”

“Uh-huh,” he nodded his head.

“Could you play with those toys so I can have a moment with your mum? It will only take a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Little Jo agreed.

“That’s my good boy,” Ellen smiled. “So obedient, he is.”

“He is the most behaved little gentleman I’ve met,” Delia agreed. She watched his little blonde head disappear into the second bedroom, and then turned her attention towards the expecting mother.

“Does it burn when you urinate?” Delia asked.

Ellen signed and nodded her head.

“Any other time?” Delia investigated.

Ellen winced at the recent, painful, memory.

“Anything you tell me will be in confidence,” Delia promised.

“It burned the other night…” Ellen huffed.

“During intimacy?” Delia pushed on, acting on the hunch she had brewing.

Ellen closed her eyes and nodded her head.

Delia wrote the complaint down in Ellen’s file full of progress notes. 

“Please don’t tell Joan...” Ellen pleaded, “She already worries.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Delia promised. “When did that start?”

“Some time since your last visit.”

“Can I take a look?” Delia asked and reached for a pair of gloves in her bag.

Ellen nodded her head and lifted her hips to help the nurse remove her drawers from underneath her skirt. She parted her thighs and blushed as the nurse inspected her.

A scent instantly met Delia’s nose, and she began to take shallow breaths to avoid getting a full dose of it.

“Any change in... scent?” she asked as she inspected her patient. Lots of women smelled, but even with her inexperienced nose, she could tell something was different. Especially since she didn’t notice it during the last routine check.

“Oh, Nurse, I always smell different when I’m pregnant.”

With gloved hands, Delia took a closer look. She didn’t fail to notice the bright redness present in Ellen’s inner genitalia. Things were drastically different from the last check indeed. It worried Delia, but she kept her calm composure.

“Have you noticed any other changes?” Delia asked.

Ellen shook her head in denial. “Why, is something wrong?” she began to worry.

“There’s a bit of discharge so I’m going to have doctor stop by tomorrow,” Delia informed. “Just to get a second opinion.”

Ellen shimmied back into her underwear and closed her legs when Delia took her gloves off. 

“I would also advise you to refrain from intercourse until you get the clear,” Delia added.

“Is it an infection?” Ellen asked, her blood turning cold in her veins. She had heard of women who began to leak pus and die later from an infection.

“I can't confirm that now,” Delia shook her head, though she had a strong suspicion.

“Is it going to hurt my baby?”

“I don’t know,” Delia sighed again. “We won’t know anything until doctor makes a formal diagnosis.”

Ellen insecurely crossed her arms and bit her thumbnail between her teeth.

“I’ll be here when he comes,” Delia promised. “I won’t let you go through that alone.”

Ellen cracked a sad smile and reached her hand to hold Delia’s.

“You’re so kind to me, Nurse,” Ellen gave the other woman’s hand a squeeze.

Delia gave her patient a reassuring smile, though she worried something terrible could threaten Ellen’s second pregnancy.

000

The next day, Delia and Phyllis held Ellen’s hand as Doctor Turner inspected her. Joan was at work, as she was on most weekdays, and Ellen thought the timing was perfect. She would rather break the news to Joan herself, rather than having her worrying as the doctor assessed her.

“This discharge is abnormal,” Doctor Turner confirmed, “I heavily suspect it’s  _ Neisseria gonorrhoeae _ , which can remain asymptomatic in healthy women for months or even years. It would be hard to tell how long ago it was transmitted to you. Is the baby’s father in the picture?”

“No,” Ellen shook her head firmly.

“If you have a sexual partner now, Miss Kent, you will have to tell me so I can start them on antibiotic treatment as well.”

Ellen avoided all eyes and took interest in the bouquet of baby’s breath that sat on her dresser instead.

“Miss Kent?” DoctorTurner urged his patient. “The name of your partner, please?”

“Doctor Turner,” Delia finally spoke up, “Would it be possible to keep Miss Kent’s significant other anonymous, just this once? I can tell you their age, weight and height for your dosage, but for the sake of keeping an already worried mother at ease, would you be able to make an exception?”

Doctor Turner glanced at Nurse Crane, who seemed to be in favour of Delia’s suggestion.

“Very well,” Doctor Turner wrote the prescription as Nurse Busby requested. “Please refrain from intercourse until 7 days after the antibiotic treatment,” he added as he packed up his belongings.

“Is this going to harm the baby?” Ellen asked about what worried her the most.

“You will have to be scheduled for a caesarian, as to avoid the baby coming in contact with the birth canal. There is a chance of miscarriage but the antibiotics should take care of you and your little one. You’re lucky Nurse Busby caught it as soon as the symptoms became present, early detection is always key.”

“Thank you, Doctor Turner...” Phyllis released Ellen’s hand and saw the doctor out the door.

Delia and Ellen remained in the room, and Delia continued to hold Ellen’s hand in hers.

“You must think I’m a tramp,” Ellen finally broke the thick silence.

“I don’t think that at all,” Delia promised.

“Two illegitimate children from different fathers and no ring around my finger—I know what people think of me,” Ellen admitted, sadly. “The worst part is they don’t have to say anything, I can tell just from the look they give me when I leave the apartment. Even Joan gets looks for associating herself with me.”

“I think the world is too cruel to those of us who don’t conform to its rules,” Delia replied. “People are too focused on what you are or what you aren’t that they fail to see that you’re a good mother… you and Joan are.”

“You must have us all figured out,” Ellen sighed, now visibly uncomfortable that the nurse had caught onto her relationship with Joan. It made her feel ashamed. “I guess it’s harder to hide now that Little Jo has taken occupancy of the second bedroom and Joan and I can no longer pretend we don’t share a bed…”

“I don’t think that’s the case…” Delia admitted, “I think it just takes one to know one.”

“Really, Nurse Busby?” Ellen’s gloomy features brightened, ever so slightly, into a small proud smile. She was suddenly relieved that Delia could relate to her lifestyle.

“Yes,” Delia smiled. “It’s personal information I have never shared with a patient.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” Ellen promised. 

“I would appreciate it.”

Ellen gave the nurse’s hand a comforting squeeze and the room simmered into silence again.

“I didn’t cheat on Joan,” Ellen defended herself after a moment. “If that’s how you think I got pregnant. I didn’t cheat. Joan nearly had a stroke when I suggested how I planned to get pregnant, but I eventually convinced her to give me her blessing.”

“Surely adoption would have been easier...” Delia wondered out loud.

“The adoption agency saw us unfit to adopt, even if we had the space and money. They wanted to house babies in families with both mothers and fathers.”

“That’s so unfair,” Delia shook her head and took a shaky, angry, breath. There were so many unwanted children waiting for a home, she could not fathom denying a child a warm bed and loving guardians simply because the women lacked husbands.

“So I took to the port of London, where nobody would recognize me, in search of lonely sailors who would take me for a night.”

“I wish you didn’t have to do that,” Delia breathed out. She really wished there was a better way for women like them to procreate without laying with strange men and spreading infections.

“Have you ever wanted something so bad, it felt like you were suffocating without it?” Ellen challenged.

“Someone,” Delia admitted softly. “I haven’t been able to breathe since she left.”

“Where did she go?”

“Hong Kong… to tend to her dying father.”

Ellen took Delia’s hand and gave her an understanding squeeze. “So you understand… I was suffocating. It was killing me not to have a family with Joan. I can take the strange looks, or even names, but I couldn’t cope with an empty home without children and the woman I love.”

Delia didn’t know what to say. Ellen’s predicament hit too close to home, and she felt a whole range of emotions as she empathized with her.

“Now I have to tell Joan,” Ellen sighed. “I hope the antibiotics treat her before she experiences symptoms. She really doesn’t deserve any of this.”

“Neither of you do,” Delia reminded.

Ellen sighed and tried to believe Delia that her burning infection was not some sort of punishment for her sins.

000

Joan had the day off from work during the next prenatal visit. And while Delia expected some tension or resentment between the two women, what she witnessed instead was love and understanding.

“Are these antibiotics known to cause gas?” Joan asked the nurse with a slight wince. “Pardon my lack of ladylikeness, but I’ve been popping and rumbling like an old tractor since I’ve started taking them.”

“Joan!” Ellen scolded with a light laugh. “Nurse Busby doesn’t need to know that.”

“No worries,” Delia chuckled, “Body functions are all part of the job.”

“Well, it’s either the medication or your cooking, Ellen...” Joan teased.

“Penicillin is known to cause the occasional stomach upset,” Delia informed. “Have you been taking it with food, or a glass of milk?”

“Do I ever,” Joan placed her hand on her bloated belly. “It says to take with food but Ellen thinks it says to take with a whole pot roast.”

“I’m nesting, Joan,” Ellen reminded. “It’s either I clean too much or I cook to much, I can never win around here.”

The playful banter between the two women filled Delia’s heart with joy. Now that their secret was out of the closet, they appeared much more comfortable to be themselves. At least in the comfort of their own home, even in the presence of a guest.

“Alright you two...” Delia smiled, “I need some quiet to listen to baby.”

“Yes, Joan,” Ellen had to have the final say, “clench your buttocks and don’t let anything out for a few minutes.”

Joan made an angry face and quietly shook a fist at her lover.

Delia placed the stethoscope on Ellen’s abdomen and took a good listen. She immediately thought the beating within sounded rather weak, and she repositioned the stethoscope to check again.

“What’s wrong?” Ellen asked when she saw the smile fade from Delia’s face.

“Give me a minute…” Delia pressed her ear against the stethoscope and looked at her watch. “Baby’s heart rate is alarmingly low,” she lifted her head and looked at Joan. “Can you call for an ambulance and then Doctor Turner?” she asked, offering two coins from her pocket.

“What do I say?” Joan lifted her hand to refuse the nurse’s money.

“Tell Doctor Turner that Ellen may need that Cesarean sooner than later.”

“No, it’s too soon,” Ellen began to panic. 

“I know, dear, but I think the infection is harming baby faster than the antibiotics are helping. Do you have a case packed?”

“No,” Ellen began to pant. 

“What about Little Jo?” Joan asked before she could walk out of the door. “We haven’t got anybody to care for him.”

Delia closed her eyes, briefly, and used her brain power to think. The girls at Nonnatus were spread thin and Sister Monica Joan was unfit to care for a toddler.

“Call Nonnatus and ask for Fred Buckle. He helps run the Cubs, he’ll know what to do.”

Joan nodded her head and ran out of the apartment and down the black metal stairs. She slightly cursed herself for not having a phone line, even though they could afford it. It seemed unpractical to have a phone in the apartment when they had no friends to call them.

Back at the apartment, Delia rushed about and helped Ellen pack enough things, essentials, for the hospital.

“Mum?” Little Jo’s little voice stopped the commotion. He had just woken up from a nap and he rubbed his eyes with one hand, his teddy bear carried in the other.

“Little Jo,” Delia forced herself to smile and knelt before the child, to meet him eye-to-eye. “How would you like to spend the day with the Cubs, making crafts and eating ice cream?”

“Is mum and Big Jo coming too?” he asked.

“Not this time,” Delia answered apologetically. “Mum has to go to hospital, baby needs help.”

“Can I help?” his pure heart offered.

“I’m sorry,” Delia sadly shook her head. “But you’re a brave boy. Mum needs you to be brave and show little baby how to be brave.”

000

Delia held Joan’s hand as they sat in the waiting room. Joan was silent and her face had yet to change from the worried expression she had on her face.

“Lots of babies survive birth at thirty weeks, with the help of medical intervention,” Delia shared, hoping it would soothe her friend.

“I’m not as worried about the baby,” Joan admitted. “Am I a bad mother to think that?” she asked quietly. “It’s just… Ellen’s my whole life.”

“I don’t think you’re a bad mother at all,” Delia reassured. She understood how Joan felt.

“It was hard enough to let her make Joey, I begged her not to do it again. I hated the idea of her prostituting herself for man’s seed. But she really wanted a second so Little Jo had someone to play with. Now she’s made herself ill and I just can’t stand the thought of losing her.”

Delia sighed and wrapped her arms around Joan as she began to sob.

“Ellen is a tough gal, I think it’s going to take a lot more than a treatable infection to take her down.”

“I hope so,” Joan whimpered. “Though I curse the man who gave this to her.”

Delia remained silent and rubbed small circles on Joan’s back.

“I should have carried this time, but I’m not as brave as Ellen. I couldn’t even touch a man, that way. If only I had more courage…”

“You can’t blame yourself or wish it was you in there right now,” Delia soothed. “Guilt won’t help Ellen or baby get better… but love and support will.”

Joan sighed and buried her forehead into Delia’s shoulder. “Are all nurses so wise and understanding?”

“I think it’s a quality you develop after caring for people of all walks of life.”

Joan sat up and took a deep breath. She kept her hand in Delia’s, but she tried her best to be stronger for Ellen and their unborn baby.

“Ellen says the baby’s father was kind. A true gentlemen, only lonely and desperate after months at sea. She said he was really gentle with her, just like Joey’s father. She only picks the nice ones, she says, so I can’t hate them. Even if they did this to her. They’ve given us a lot more than they’ll ever know.”

Delia took a sharp breath and wondered if the world would always be the way it was. She had accepted the fact that she and Patsy could never get married, let alone have children. Yet, there were women like Ellen and Joan who took such big risks to live the life they wanted. Delia thought: if only there was a better way to do so.

000

Hours passed. Only Delia left the waiting room to buy sandwiches from the cafeteria. Not that Joan had the appetite.

“You don’t want to faint when Ellen needs you most,” Delia insisted.

Joan took a sharp breath and forced herself to take a bite. And she was glad she did, because Ellen emerged in a stretcher moments later and Joan felt so sick she thought she would faint.

“How is she?” Delia stood to her feet and followed the surgeon, Joan closely behind her.

“She’ll need rest and aggressive treatment,” the surgeon informed. “She developed P.I.D. on top of everything else.”

“What’s that?” Joan asked.

“Are you family?” the surgeon asked.

Joan paused, stunned. “F-friend,” she answered softly.

“Then I’m afraid I can only discuss these matters with Miss Kent’s nurse.”

Joan stopped walking and watched the crew of doctors and nurses walk away from her.

“Wait there for me,” Delia mouthed and motioned before disappearing into the ward with the team.

Joan nervously bit her bottom lip between her teeth and waited. Again. It was torture, waiting, and this time she was too fidgety to sit back down.

“Joan…” a forced whisper broke through the woman’s thoughts. She turned towards the source of the voice and saw Delia motioning for her to follow her.

And she did. She wasn’t aware that her feet were moving, but they must have been, because soon she was seated on a chair beside a sleeping Ellen.

“What did the doctor say?” Joan asked softly.

“P.I.D. is pelvic inflammatory disease, it can develop in patients with sexually transmitted diseases.”

“Is she going to make it?” Joan worried.

“I have a lot of faith she will,” Delia nodded her head. “It’s a treatable hiccup.”

Joan sighed in relief and sat on the edge of her chair to sit closer to her lover.

“Hang in there, Ellen…” she soothed.

Ellen weakly opened her eyes and gave her love a small smile. “Baby…” she whispered.

“She’s thriving,” Delia informed with a smile. “She’s very little, but she’s a fighter.”

“A girl,” Joan whimpered, “Did you hear that, Ellen? You had a girl.”

Ellen smiled and closed her eyes again. “Baby Eloise…” she breathed out before going back to sleep.

“Eloise,” Joan gasped quietly and watched her lover rest.

Delia gave the two women a proud smile. “I suppose that makes them Big El and Little El.”

Joan wiped the tears that streamed down her cheeks and pressed a soft kiss on Ellen’s hand. “I’m going to take care of all of us,” she vowed. “You, Little Jo and Little El. We’re going to be together and happy, so please… recover soon.”

000

“I have a favour to ask of all of you,” Delia announced at the dinner table later that night. “Miss Kent had her baby girl premature this evening and she hasn’t got any friends or family, other than her roommate and two-year-old son. I don’t think anybody should celebrate this miracle practically alone… so I was hoping we could all come together and give her and baby a warm congratulations.”

Silence stunned the dinner table. None of them knew Miss Kent well, but they did know she was unwed with two children.

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Phyllis gave her pupil the proudest smile. “I can darn bonnets and socks tonight.”

“That would be lovely,” Valerie Dyer agreed. “I can sew a little sundress!”

“I can paint the card and gift box,” Sister Winifred offered.

“And I shall offer cake!” Sister Monica Joan announced.

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Nurse Busby,” Sister Julienne praised. “We shall all contribute to this gift box.”

000

The next morning, Joan and Ellen met their baby for the first time. Ellen was recovering smoothly, and little baby Eloise was beating all odds and strengthening with each passing moment. She was a lot smaller than Joey, barely four pounds and skin flushed pink, but she looked like him.

“She looks just like you,” Joan smiled. “It’s going to be hard to say ‘no’ to her when she wants her way.”

“Don’t you dare spoil her rotten,” Ellen warned, gently stroking their baby’s arm inside the glass incubator. “I want her to be kind, and understanding, and generous… just like her other mum.”

Joan smiled and offered her finger to Little El, who naturally held onto it. Tight.

“She is strong,” Joan said with awe.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Delia apologized as she approached the couple. “But you have a few visitors waiting to see you.”

“Visitors?” Ellen glanced at Joan questioningly. “We haven’t got any friends, nurse.”

“None,” Joan agreed.

“I beg to differ...” Phyllis Crane walked into the room with a big box in her arms. The nurses and nuns followed closely behind her with flowers and balloons.

“What’s all this?” Joan took a step back and watched the women pile into the room.

“We come bearing gifts like the three wise men. Although we are not three, or men, we are still wise,” Sister Monica Joan explained.

Behind the women, Fred Buckle walked in with Little Jo holding his hand.

Tears began to pool in Ellen and Joan’s eyes.

“We have heard of the miracle that happened here last night,” Sister Julienne explained. “As Nurse Busby had said, no one should celebrate a miracle alone.”

“And I have cake!” Sister Monica Joan blurted out. “For all of us,” she reassured.

“Thank you,” Joan placed her hand on her heart and looked at all the people who came to celebrate with them.

“This means a lot to us,” Ellen sniffed back her tears, “Thank you.”

The Order of Saint Raymond delivered compassion on top of gifts that day. Ellen, Joan, and their children unwrapped the presents they were given, and for once, they felt like part of a community that cared instead of isolated them.

000

_ Dearest Pats, _

_ I hope you’re well and I hope your father is as comfortable as he can be. _

_ I haven’t been able to write for a few days, but I’m sure my reasons for not writing are nowhere as strenuous as yours. This week has been a lot better than the last. I’ve actually had a chance to sleep a whole night without worrying about those friends of Dorothy’s I told you about in my last letter. They’re finally home with both of their children now. Home, healthy, and happy. _

_ I’m still scheduled to see them twice a week, Baby El being a premie and all, and they keep sending me home with butter tarts to show their appreciation. I’m going to have to start joining Trixie’s Keep-Fit class soon. You know what they say: once on the lips, forever on the hips. Although, working at the Sea Matron and training to be a midwife has me jumping through hoops from dusk ‘till dawn. _

_ I’m still waiting to assist in a home birth, though. Nurse Crane said she has another case for me that “should be little trouble” but I’m starting to find it hard to believe her, bless her heart. She said Baby El’s case would be little trouble, but I think it’s been my hardest one yet. It hit too close to home. I couldn’t help but picture myself in their shoes. I couldn’t help but picture myself making the same mistakes, if I hadn’t been trained as a nurse. I kept thinking: if only they knew the risks of infection, if only there was a way to reduce those risks, I could have helped them before they got into their mess. _

_ I don’t mean to sound like one hiccup has made me rethink my career as a midwife, and I would very much like to complete my training, but I think that sometime in the near future I would also like to become an educator. I think I would like to research and educate people who, as we say, don’t conform to society. Because they have a right to be educated on safe practices too. I also want to strive for a safer way for people of all kinds to have children. _

_ Patsy, I want so many things that seem so unreachable right now. _

_ I’ve even prayed for God to set me in the right direction. _

_ I can’t help but feel a little lost these days, but I believe that things will fall into place if it’s meant to be. Whether it be months or years... I believe. _

_ As always, please write when you can. I miss you dearly. _

_ Sincerely, _

_   Deels _

Delia sealed the letter and took it to the mail deposit box. She kissed the brown envelope before dropping it in the slot and bidding it a good journey to Hong Kong.

Straightening up, she fixed her hair in the reflection of the post office window and then took the parcel in her arm to the old flat on the upper-east end of Poplar.

It was Little Jo’s third birthday and Delia got him another toy car to add to his collection. Ellen and Joan were hosting their very first party, and the apartment was spotless, as it always was, and it was decorated with streamers and balloons. The girls from Nonnatus were already there when Delia arrived, and even some of the Cubs showed up with treats and presents for the celebrant. Even if the children were a lot older than Little Jo, they made him an honorary member of the pack and Missus Buckle had sewn him his own little green hat and uniform.

It was a big change for Little Jo. He had never had children, or many people, at his house before. Of course, some of the friends he made at the Cubs had parents who could not see past his illegitimacy, but the world was changing. It would still take another decade for artificial insemination to become a commercial alternative for couples who could not conceive, and decades more for women like Ellen and Joan to be granted legal access to the procedure. But people were opening their minds and their hearts. And for the first time Little Jo, Big Jo, Little El, and Big El had a home full of friends.

“Happy birthday, my love…” Ellen greeted and kissed her son’s head.

“Don’t forget to make a wish,” Joan reminded as she rocked Little El in her arms.

Little Jo took a deep breath and blew out the three candles on his birthday cake. His friends clapped their hands for him and he felt he finally had what he felt was missing.

A big smile formed on his face and he looked up at his mothers with pure joy.

“Are you happy?” Ellen asked, her smile as big as Joey’s.

“Yes, mum.” He nodded, “I like having friends.”

**Author's Note:**

> Although we learned about the diseases discussed in this story while I was in nursing school, we failed to go into detail about the history of treatment, antibiotic resistance, and public health reportability specific to London in 1962. I’ve had to use creative license to fill in the gaps where my resources could not. If any of these symptoms apply to you, please see a physician a soon as possible. Thanks for reading! xoxo


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